In this episode, I spend time with Arnar Larusson, Co-founder at Tyme, a Boston-based startup that integrates sensors into clothing to measure various biometrics signals, including breathing and movement.

Our conversation starts with his upbringing in Iceland and early signs of entrepreneurs, later moving into how prosthetics stay on the body and discussing his efforts at Harvard to create a fabric that decreases the amount of energy you need to walk.

Next, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of wearable tech currently on the market and how he is attempting to merge the worlds of electronics and fabrics manufacturing to build a world in which sensors you can't see or feel are measuring your health in realtime.

Enjoy the conversation with Arnar from TymeWear!

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When evaluating all the potential founders to ask on the show, I came across one I hadn't heard of before, Tank Utility. Founded by a few guys from EnerNOC, a smart metering startup that went on to great success, this startup focuses on the propane industry -- a sector largely ignored by startups and innovators.

From walking into a frigid ski home with frozen pipes to prototyping and launching their propane tank level monitoring device in market, CEO Amos Epstein and his co-founders think they're onto something special. With a round of funding in the bank and lots of green space to capture with its inside sales team, Tank Utility is ready for a big 2017.

You can reach Amos @TankUtility on Twitter.

Make sure to tweet me @JohnnyStartup with the hashtag #EarlyStage with questions, banter, and recommendations for guests on the show.

If you like Early Stage, please leave a 5-Star review on iTunes or Stitcher!

Liz Asai, Co-Founder and CEO of Boston-based digital health startup 3Derm, joins me on the pod this week. From the dorm rooms of Yale to product launches with some of the top hospital systems and payers in the country, Liz teaches us the power of patience and perseverance. For a healthcare startup to succeed, it needs to pass a wide range of tests, regulations, and coverage approvals -- and finally prove it's mettle against a constantly improving status quo. 3Derm has done exactly that over the last four years with its teledermatology platform that allows non-dermatologists to take clinical quality 3D skin images remotely. With a product solidly in market and plans to scale, her team is jumping headfirst into its next stage of growth.

You can reach Liz @liz_asai

Make sure to tweet me @JohnnyStartup with the hashtag #EarlyStage with questions, banter, and recommendations for guests on the show.

If you like Early Stage, please leave a 5-Star review on iTunes or Stitcher!

How does a class project in college become a funded, scaling startup? Just ask Maria Gomez from Mighty Well. Maria, CEO Emily Levy, and team blew the doors off a KickStarter they launched for a PICC line cover that was both fashionable and functional. Now, with degrees from Babson College in hand, Maria is helping turn Mighty Well into a multi-product brand with global ambitions.

You can reach Maria @LiveMightyWell.

Make sure to tweet me @JohnnyStartup with the hashtag #EarlyStage with questions, banter, and recommendations for guests on the show.

ReferralMob Co-Founders Joseph Schwendt and David Samuels aren't new to big business and the startup game. Before teaming up, they led startups like EnerNOC and Apperian and corporations like Verisign and Intel. Despite their past successes, the pull of building their own company emerged when they hatched a solution to the inefficiencies in the recruiting process. Their technology is powered by users, allowing them to draw from their own networks and refer their friends to great jobs at exceptional companies in a fun, lucrative and mutually beneficial way. Listen in as we discuss its origins, the importance of team-building, and the specific design and functional choices they made to optimize the user experience and turbocharge referrals and hires.

Where were you the moment you decided to leave your career behind, follow a passion, and build a startup? Ashley Reid, Founder and CEO of digital health startup Wellist, was helping her dad landscape the yard when she made the decision that has had tremendous impact on thousands of patients' lives.

Wellist leverages proprietary patient data and human compassion to increase patient satisfaction, outcomes, and loyalty. A hospital visit sometimes means a marked shift in a patient's autonomy and way of life, and this reality brings many new challenges they are unequipped to handle alone. Wellist provides mobile, online, and in-person support to help patient and their caregivers make informed decisions.

Passion and caring effuses from her during this conversation, and it's clear her purpose in life is to use technology and new solutions to lessen human suffering. Strong and growing partnerships with hospital systems like Partners have Wellist on an enviable growth trajectory.

Her biggest piece of advice to new founders is to meet 30 people in 30 days -- and none of them should be an investor. Building a deep support network is essential to a startups success.

Enjoy listening to this episode!

Boston-based @FortifiedBike Co-Founder and CEO @TivanAmour is no stranger to big challenges. Launching "The Defender" on Kickstarter as a test netted thousands of orders for the theft proof bike light and gave him the confidence he needed to join Co-Founder @SlavaMenn. With a full bike now on the market, revenue ramping up hard, and positive cash flow in sight, Tivan and I dig into a number of juicy topics for early stage entrepreneurs.

What is it like to have 40 investors on the cap table? What is the right cadence for reaching out to investors? Why did Cadillac only have a limited number of key versions made in the 1970s? What are the three jobs of the CEO? Is it possible to lower headcount and keep growing revenue? How does the focus of a startup change, or not change, when becoming cash flow positive? What is it like going through TechStars Will going to business school prepare you for entrepreneurship?

Imagine if you had x-ray vision, being able to see into spaces before you arrive. CJ Bertam, Founder and CEO of Looop, has a vision to help the masses decide where to go so they can spend more time enjoying themselves in a place that fits their mood.

Making place-based data actionable is a challenge but potentially lucrative opportunity, and CJ is positioning the Looop app and his team to take advantage. Give this episode a listen for his advice on funding, building a strong team, launching a startup in NYC, and being a counterpuncher.

In this episode, Forbes "30 Under 30" honoree Alessandro Babini shares his journey from growing up in Paris, France, to launching his own startup, Humon, while at the Sloan School of Management at MIT. Humon is a wearable that helps endurance athletes train smarter by measuring muscle oxygen levels in real time. Alessandro and his team of 4 took the concept from a class research project to beta tests with hundreds of athletes on less than $1M in funding. With a full-scale launch on the horizon in 2017, Humon is preparing to dominate the competitive athletics market and beyond. Will you be strapping on a Humon in 2017?

3DFortify founders Josh Martin, Phil Gregory, and Karlo Reyes have set out to turn the promise of additive manufacturing into reality through their patented process that combines 3D printing and magnetics to create aligned reinforced carbon fiber composites. Hailing from the labs of Northeastern University, these founders tell the story of how they met, how the research was done, when they realized their platform had a true opportunity to be successful in the marketplace, and what they like to do to get away.